


Third Choice

by Shipper101



Series: Saviour [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Saviour, The island proceeds differently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipper101/pseuds/Shipper101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Choose one, or both die. There is another way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ivo aimed the pistol. Shado and Sara knelt before him, facing Oliver. Oliver Struggled against his ties.

"Choose. One or the other. If you don't choose I kill both."

"Bastard. There is nothing left. The Miracle is gone."

"Choose."

Ivo started to aim the weapon at Sara. Oliver twisted desperately, and to his shock, his bonds fell away. He looked at the soldier holding him captive nervously. He hadn't seen.

"Choose. Now. One or the other."

He had to act fast. Elbowing his captor in the chest, he dropped to the ground. Ivo looked at him, distracted for a moment, and Oliver hurled the guard's flashlight. Ivo's gun barked into violent life, and fell to the ground, as Sara screamed. Oliver didn't have time to worry now. Drawing his guard's knife, he hurled himself at Ivo, bearing them both to the ground, ramming his knife into Ivo's shoulder. Ivo screamed, and the other, nearby guards started to open fire. Shado shrieked as she was hit, and Oliver rolled over, grabbing the pistol from the ground. Slade would have heard the gunshots. He would be here soon. Firing a couple of shots at a nearby guard, he dropped to the ground. Turning, he saw Ivo crawling away. He was about to give chase, but in the end he just left him. He had other problems.

Sara had been hit in the back of the shin. She was rapidly losing blood, and had nearly passed out. Shado had been hit in the shoulder, and was in far worse shape. She was only conscious through sheer effort of will, and even that was fading. He needed to get them out of here fast.

Suddenly, gunfire of a different pitch rang out. The other guard fell to the ground, and the last of the crew fled, helping Ivo into the darkness.

Slade came over when he was sure they were all gone. He rushed to Shado immediately, where Oliver was working on bandaging her wound with a rag. 

"You did well kid. Now, let's get her back to camp."

Oliver could only nod. He couldn't lose Shado and Sara.

Hefting Sara into his arms, he started to follow Slade back to camp.


	2. Return to Starling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast forward, and Oliver returns to Starling. Will the Arrow rise, or will something else take its place?

As Oliver walked out of the aircraft, he was immediately surrounded by reporters. He walked slowly through the crowd, every step seeming to last a year. He could remember the last time he was in Starling- It had been with Sara, and with Shado. The mere thought of her name caused a lump to form in his throat. They had all been grieving then as well. Grieving for Slade. The Yamashiros had been there for them the whole time. They were safe now. Despite all of Her interruptions. Her backstabbing. Her treacherous ways. He had managed to get them to Japan safely. Through Hong Kong, through Shrieve. Through her. 

As Oliver arrived at the car, he bent over and lowered himself into the low seat. Leaning against the soft leather upholstery, he closed his eyes. He could see them both, covered in a thick matt of their own blood. Shado, her head and beautiful face a bloody mess. Her hair tangled and matted with filth. Mei, sitting beside her, covered in her sister's blood, weeping next to her corpse. Waller would take care of her. She owed Oliver that much. Even after she had moved heaven and earth of find Him, and informed him of Shado's fall, she still owed him everything. 

Then, all he could remember was Sara. Tears running down her face, standing between him and Shrieve, gun in her hand. Shrieve laughing. Maseo clutching Tatsu, who in turn was holding Akio. Then the gunfire rang out, followed by the explosions. Sara disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Shrieve's laughter stopped as Oliver started slamming his head into the wall. Over and over again. Again and again. 

He had been satisfied then. He had gone to Shado's funeral. Had forced Waller to help him. Had ensured that Mei would be protected. Would be safe. Then, he had disappeared. He had lost everything, but for one mission. His father's one mission. He had made many friends. Met many people. He had trained himself. His mind. His body. When it came to pass that he must fulfill his mission, he would not be found wanting.

And now, five years after he had disappeared, he was back in Starling.

When he had arrived at his house, he was immediately ambushed by Thea, who wrapped him up in an immense bear hug. His mother followed, as did Walter. Oliver had to say, he was happy that Walter and his mother had decided to marry. He had always liked Walter, and having had his perspective shifted dramatically, he knew that his mother needed him.

The next phone call changed everything.

"She is in Starling"

"When did she arrive?"

"About a week ago. I can't imagine she'll be there for too long."

Oliver snapped the phone shut. 

He needed to see someone. In the meantime, Tommy was being annoying as anything. It took him a while to adjust to the fact that Oliver had no interest in going for the party run. Nevertheless, he acquiesced to a visit to Laurel. They were half way there when the police waved them over. Tommy groaned beside him, but he just closed his eyes. Sirens. The beginning and the end. He listened carefully. That wasn't a normal siren. You could hear sirens twenty four seven in Starling city. All police cars had the same sound. This was off. It was the wrong pitch. An imitation. A good imitation, but still just an imitation.

Oliver smiled. He was looking forward to seeing her again.

\---

Chien na-wei rose from her couch and embraced Oliver wholeheartedly. Oliver returned it, kissing her gently on both cheeks. Tommy looked stunned. Chien nodded, and two of her men grabbed him by the arms and walked him away.

"So, Mr Queen. What brings you back to Starling City?"

"Sara Lance is back in town."

Chien narrowed her eyes.

"I thought you said that you two had gone your separate ways."

"We have. I want your help."

"To do what? To find her, and then what, smooch her, or whatever you americans do?"

Oliver smiled, and shook his head.

"I want you help to kill her. Sara Lance must die."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is. Once again, please comment. I am planning to do this in the style of the TV series in the form of flashbacks, hence the time jump.
> 
> For those who wanted a Sara ship, I am sorry. There will be bits of it in flashbacks, but I am a fan of Nyssa and Sara.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara Lance has her first encounter with the Triad... and Oliver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it has taken me so long to post- I have been utterly swamped

Sara was slipping along the rooftop when she saw them. There were half a dozen large, Chinese men in long coats at the door to the warehouse. They were all holding what looked like heavy firearms. She didn't need this. Maybe there was another pharmaceutical depot nearby. However, there was definitely not one to which she had memorised the blueprint and developed a full entry plan. Even if that entry plan did require her to move through a portal currently protected by aforementioned thugs. 

Oh, what the hell.

Sliding down the rooftop, she used her hand spikes to move down the wall quietly. There was little chance that she could get close enough through guile, leaving stealth as the only option. One of the men raised his radio to his mouth. She froze, holding still behind a container as she waited for the infernal sirens to start. After thirty seconds, there was nothing however. Relaxing, she slipped into the shadows, slinking around the yard, out of the guard's line of sight. Picking up a light pebble, she threw it down one of the streets, before drawing a shuriken. Sure enough, the clattering of stone on stone rang out loudly in the quiet night. The guards turned to look at it. The man with the radio gestured to three of his men. Nodding, they started to move down the street. They moved carefully and slowly, covering each other while being careful not to hinder one another. Concern started to rise in Sara's gut. This was military training. Ordinary guard teams didn't move or act like that. Sliding into the shadows, she moved over behind the other guards. Casting her shuriken, the lead guard dropped his radio as the sharpened blade dug into his arm. The other two guards raised their weapons, even as the leader swore. 

The first guard didn't know what hit him. He was on his knees, blood flowing from a savage gash in his throat, before he could even scream. The second guard actually saw her before she removed his head from his shoulders. The guard leader, however, instead of slinking away with an injured arm, slammed his fist into her gut. As she doubled over, he tried to follow up with a knee to her face. That one she avoided, but she couldn't completely avoid the skilled knife slash, and it caught her across her shoulder, drawing a line of agony. Falling back, she sized him up. He was probably twice her size, at least, and moved with the grace of a trained killer. This was exactly what she hadn't wanted. Moving forwards at speed, she ducked underneath hi next slash, and punched her shuriken up... straight into his vest. The man didn't even flinch before head butting her. She withdrew her arm fast, not wanting him to gain a hold on it. She had no illusions about the result of such exposure. Drawing her dagger slowly from it's sheath, she ducked forwards. Instead of moving under his slash, she pulled back, and drove her knife into his ear. The man shivered, fell to his knees, and then stilled. Withdrawing her blade, she let him hit the floor with a soft thud, before sliding in through the side door. 

Once inside, she froze. There was nothing. The entire, huge warehouse was empty. Running forwards, she blinked rapidly as light exploded around her. Half a dozen floodlights now shone down at her, and she could see more guards moving into the building from the other entrances. They all trained their weapons on her. She swore violently. It had all been a trap, and she had fallen for it beautifully. Raising her hands, she stopped when she heard a voice that made her blood run cold.

'Giving up so easily, Sara. I'd have thought, after what you did to them, you would be a touch more careful... and fare less willing to have yourself at their mercy'

Sara slowly turned around, her blood turned to ice in her veins. Oliver Queen stood there, in a long, dark green coat. He wore hardened leather gauntlets, and held a katana in a firm grip. Swallowing Sara drew her sword, readying herself. Oliver smiled, before raising his own sword.

'I thought so. Besides, I wouldn't want to make this too quick now.'

Sara charged. Oliver easily parried her first two wild swipes, casually directing them aside. The third he caught full on with the flat of his sword, pushing it aside and forcing Sara to duck below the horizontal slash that followed. She managed to get her blade up in time to intercept the next blow, but it brought with it such stinging force that her sword was knocked from her grip. Leaping backwards, she hurled a trio of shurikens, and followed them up with knife in hand. Oliver turned, so that he was standing side on to her, causing two of the shurikens to miss, while the last he contemptuously swatted aside with his sword. Faster than she could see, his sword flashed back, and she shrieked as a red welt of agony flared up across her hand. Dropping her knife, she shuffled backwards. Not fast enough to avoid his kick, however, which sent her sprawling. 

Looking up, she saw the point of the katana at her throat. Staring intently at Oliver, she tapped the button on her leg. Instantly, the room filled with shattering glass, arrows and shurikens. Almost a dozen black clad figures burst into the warehouse through the doors and windows. Oliver savagely cut down the three that approached him, but he was then forced backwards as he blocked and parried the hails of arrows and blades flying at him. She desperately scrabbled away from him, even as he was forced backwards. Running out the building, all but two of the assassins followed her. She was sure that she could hear screams behind her as she ran. 

So, Oliver was back in Starling. Thank fucking god she had needed the medicine for Nyssa. VIPs always received higher priority, and she was glad the priority was high enough for such support to have been available

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As ever, please comment. As before, the 5 chapter thing is the minimum I hope to do before I have to go on hiatus for work

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be the first entry in a multiple part series- I just hate the incomplete work sign. I hope you enjoy, and tell me what you think and want to happen,a s besides a few things I am basically open to suggestions.


End file.
